Work

A Low-Cost Magnetic 2D Tracking System for Mobile Devices as an Alternative to Large Interactive Tabletops

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In the last decade, interactive tabletops have emerged as a hardware solution for collaborative interactions, providing shared workspaces that support group learning and work. However, despite a variety of studies highlighting their benefits, adoption in educational and professional environments remains limited due to high cost, weight, and spatial constraints. This paper presents an alternative hybrid approach of augmenting static surfaces (e.g., printed images or plans) with off-the-shelf mobile devices through a dynamic peephole interaction. The system uses a rotating, asymmetric static magnet and magnetometers commonly found in all mobile devices, requiring solely software on the device to calculate its relative position based on field strength and relative angle. This first prototype is affordable (∼€10), easy to build with a minimal set of components (e.g., LEGO or 3D-printed parts), device-independent, and offers an accuracy of 1.4 cm, with potential for improvements both to accuracy and the currently limited operating range of 30 cm.

Source: Electronics

DOI: 10.3390/electronics14234586

Authors: Sebastian Simon, Mia Čarapina, Silvio Plehati, Iza Marfisi

Institutions: University of Copenhagen, Tehničko Veleučilište u Zagrebu, Le Mans Université, Laboratoire d’Informatique de l’Université du Mans

Language: English

Topic: Interactive and Immersive Displays

Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896

Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche